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Big Carmaker Opposes Road Tax On Electric Cars

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America’s biggest carmaker wants the state legislatures in Oregon and Washington to pull the plug on new road taxes for electric cars. The targeted new fees would offset declining gas tax collections.

Many Oregon and Washington lawmakers say electric vehicle drivers should chip in something in lieu of not paying gas taxes. A pending measure in Olympia would assess a flat $100 annual license surcharge.

Meanwhile, Oregon legislators are working on an alternative mileage based tax to start in 2014. Now comes General Motors with strong opposition. S

0pokesman Shad Balch calls the fees premature and counterproductive.

Shad Balch: “There will be a time and place when electric vehicles should pay their fair share for road maintenance and those associated costs. But we’re not there yet. Right now, we need to create a market that incentivizes people to buy these cars.”

In Olympia, the General Motors objections come late in the game. A license surcharge for purely electric cars has already passed the state Senate and now awaits a vote in the Washington House.